The University of Connecticut is working through its new pre-event review process for the first time ahead of a speech by former Breitbart editor-at-large Ben Shapiro, whose controversial talks have been met with both support and disapproval on other college campuses.

Shapiro, editor-in-chief of conservative news and commentary site The Daily Wire, was invited to speak by UConn College Republicans, the same student group that brought conservative commentator Lucian Wintrich to the university on Nov. 28 for a talk titled “It Is OK To Be White.”

The talk was cut short by an altercation between Wintrich and an audience member, who is now facing charges of larceny and disorderly conduct. Outside the lecture hall, police dealt with individuals breaking a glass window and tossing a smoke bomb into the crowd of several hundred protesters. A student and Wintrich were arrested, though charges were later dropped against him and filed against the audience member who took his speech.

The review process is not based on the content of an event; we don’t regulate based on content.— Stephanie Reitz, UConn spokeswoman

UConn is now testing a pre-event review process that President Susan Herbst announced in the wake of Wintrich’s chaotic event.

UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said those details are still being finalized.

The review process involves planning for the appropriate space and security to protect the free speech rights and safety of Shapiro, audience members and others who may be at or near the event, Reitz said.

Administrators are also looking at the arrangements for question and answer sessions, which university offices should have representatives in the room, whether attendees need UConn IDs, and other details, Reitz said.

“The review process is not based on the content of an event; we don’t regulate based on content,” she said. “It’s a purely administrative procedure.”

Shapiro is a podcast host and nonfiction author of a New York Times best-seller and several national best-sellers, including “Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth.”

In September, he was able to peacefully deliver a speech at the University of California at Berkeley even as a crowd of protesters grew to about 1,000 people. Police shut down portions of the campus and made nine arrests during the event.

Similarly, Wintrich’s recent talk at UConn was derailed by near continuous chanting and heckling by audience members, some of whom lobbed the label “Nazi” at Wintrich, who is the White House correspondent for far-right, Pro-Trump website The Gateway Pundit.

Reitz said a university official will make a statement at the beginning of Shapiro's upcoming event to make it clear there are expectations of appropriate behavior, though administrators are still deciding what they consider truly disruptive behavior.

"We're using a lot of the information we learned after the Wintrich event to determine what sorts of questions needed to be looked at," she said. "Our intention is to never turn somebody away based on them being controversial. It's actually the opposite - to make sure those voices have all the same protections as every other voice."

The ownership of the Hartford Regional Market is being transferred from the state Department of Agriculture to the Capital Region Development Authority. CRDA would oversee any future redevelopment. The market has long been seen as ripe for growth but plans to upgrade the market have languished. The transfer of ownership has caused consternation at the market among vendors who see their future there as uncertain.

The ownership of the Hartford Regional Market is being transferred from the state Department of Agriculture to the Capital Region Development Authority. CRDA would oversee any future redevelopment. The market has long been seen as ripe for growth but plans to upgrade the market have languished. The transfer of ownership has caused consternation at the market among vendors who see their future there as uncertain.

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The ownership of the Hartford Regional Market is being transferred from the state Department of Agriculture to the Capital Region Development Authority. CRDA would oversee any future redevelopment. The market has long been seen as ripe for growth but plans to upgrade the market have languished. The transfer of ownership has caused consternation at the market among vendors who see their future there as uncertain.

The ownership of the Hartford Regional Market is being transferred from the state Department of Agriculture to the Capital Region Development Authority. CRDA would oversee any future redevelopment. The market has long been seen as ripe for growth but plans to upgrade the market have languished. The transfer of ownership has caused consternation at the market among vendors who see their future there as uncertain.

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LimeBikes were delivered to Hartford Wednesday morning, officially kicking off the city's first bike share program.

LimeBikes were delivered to Hartford Wednesday morning, officially kicking off the city's first bike share program.

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Megan Ahern, business analyst for Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union, demonstrates the computerized check-in kiosk for driver’s license renewals to be performed in the credit union’s new Milford branch office, starting Thursday, under a contract with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Megan Ahern, business analyst for Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union, demonstrates the computerized check-in kiosk for driver’s license renewals to be performed in the credit union’s new Milford branch office, starting Thursday, under a contract with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Hear the screams as riders test Six Flags' new attraction, the Quinn Spinsanity, a pendulum gondola ride named after The Joker’s partner-in-crime that spins 40 riders at a time at speeds as high as 70 mph and 15 stories high. Story here.

Hear the screams as riders test Six Flags' new attraction, the Quinn Spinsanity, a pendulum gondola ride named after The Joker’s partner-in-crime that spins 40 riders at a time at speeds as high as 70 mph and 15 stories high. Story here.